TravelersUnited.org Sues Hotels and Resorts to End Hotel Resort Fees and other mandatory fees.
Room Rates That Exclude Mandatory Fees Are Deceptive
Contact Lauren Wolfe regarding this issue.
Her email is [email protected]
Unadvertised resort fees deceive travelers when added to room rates.
Travelers United advocates an end to deceptive mandatory hotel fees – often called resort fees. Hotels usually advertise a nightly rate per room but don’t indicate until guests arrive or receive their final bills that they must pay a mandatory ‘resort fee.’
These fees are usually called resort fees, but since it is a fee that exists so the hotel can lie about the advertised price, a resort fee
has nothing to do with a hotel being an actual resort. At many hotels these fees are called an urban fee, an amenity fee, a destination fee, a destination amenity fee, a safe fee, or a resort charge.
These fees are usually called resort fees, but since it is a fee that exists so the hotel can lie about the advertised price, a resort fee has nothing to do with a hotel being an actual resort. At many hotels, these fees are called an urban fee, an amenity fee, a destination fee, a destination amenity fee, a safe fee or a resort charge.
If a hotel charges a mandatory fee, it should be included in the advertised nightly room rate.
Failing to do so deceives the customer about the true cost of the room and undermines the consumer’s ability to comparison shop. Too often, consumers are surprised at check out when hotels sometimes demand hundreds of additional dollars in sneaky “resort fees.” Undisclosed mandatory fees that are not included in the advertised price of a hotel room are deceptive, unfair, and illegal.
Travelers United will not stop advocating against deceptive resort fees until all mandatory fees are included in the advertised price
Travelers United has recently launched multiple lawsuits suing hotels for charging customers
deceptive resort fees in violation of the District of Columbia’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act (“CPPA”)
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- Resort fees are a violation of DC’s consumer protection laws
- Read our press release announcing our lawsuit against Hyatt here
- Read our lawsuit against Hyatt Hotels here.
- Read our lawsuit against Sonesta Hotels here.
- Read our lawsuit against Hilton here.
- Read our lawsuit against Accor here.
- (Court Confirms Junk Fee Jury Trial Against Sonesta Hotels )
The Federal Trade Commission Has Banned Hidden Hotel Fees
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a bipartisan rule to ban junk ticket and hidden hotel fees on December 17, 2024. The law went into effect in May 2025. “People deserve to know up-front what they’re being asked to pay—without worrying that they’ll later be saddled with mysterious fees that they haven’t budgeted for and can’t avoid,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “The FTC’s rule will put an end to junk fees around live event tickets, hotels, and vacation rentals, saving Americans billions of dollars and millions of hours in wasted time. I urge enforcers to continue cracking down on these unlawful fees and encourage state and federal policymakers to build on this success with legislation that bans unfair and deceptive junk fees across the economy.”
The FTC stated in a press release:
“The Junk Fees Rule will ensure that pricing information is presented in a timely, transparent, and truthful way to consumers of live-event tickets and short-term lodging, two industries whose pricing practices the Commission has studied in particular. Consumers searching for hotels or vacation rentals or seats at a show or sporting event will no longer be surprised by a pile of “resort,” “convenience,” or “service” fees inflating the advertised price. By requiring up-front disclosure of total price including fees, the rule will make comparison shopping easier, resulting in savings for consumers and leveling the competitive playing field.
The Commission launched this rulemaking in 2022 by requesting public input on whether a rule could help eliminate unfair and deceptive pricing tactics. After receiving more than 12,000 comments on how hidden and misleading fees affected personal spending and competition, the FTC announced a proposed rule in October 2023 and invited a second round of comments. The Commission received more than 60,000 additional comments which it considered in developing the final rule announced today.
The FTC estimates that the Junk Fees Rule will save consumers up to 53 million hours per year of wasted time spent searching for the total price for live-event tickets and short-term lodging. This time savings is equivalent to more than $11 billion over the next decade.”
False advertising is against the law.
Travelers United demands an immediate end to charging hotel resort fees at any property in the United States. This includes financial penalties for any District residents charged illegal hotel resort fees. Hotels must return DC taxpayer money spent on deceptive hotel resort fees. And they must end advertising complimentary rooms to District residents charged a resort fee on that “comped” room.
Lauren Wolfe, Travelers United’s Chief Legal Officer states, “Junk fees are not just greedy and deceptive. They are illegal. This lawsuit will show that hotels violate the law when they charge resort fees without including them in the advertised price. American consumers are sick and tired of corporations taking advantage of them with relentless junk fees. Travelers United hopes this lawsuit permanently ends this deceptive practice and holds Hyatt accountable for their false advertising.”
Tycko & Zavareei LLP is representing the plaintiffs in these cases. One of Travelers United’s attorneys Peter Silva stated, “ While the process of stopping these illegal fees has just begun, we are confident that at trial, a D.C. jury will find that Hyatt violated the law.”
Travelers United is a 501(c)3 non-profit consumer protection organization that advocates for American travelers. Travelers United has long fought against hotel junk fees.
Mandatory fees are on the rise.
Hotel and resort fees were estimated to grow to $2.7 billion in 2017, a 35% percent increase from 2012, according to a study by NYU School of Hospitality and Tourism Professor Bjorn Hanson. The number of hotels charging resort fees is up by 26% since 2016, and average resort fees have risen by 12%, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Resort fee rates have increased.
NerdWallet analyzed more than 100 hotels around the U.S. in 2023 and found that the average resort fee was $42.41. Relative to the room rate, resort fees averaged 11% of the overall cost to stay at the hotel each night.
Resort fees allow hotels to deprive cities of tax revenue.
Hotels charging resort fees in New York City cost the city $8,826,397.21 per year in lost tax revenue as of July 2017. Hotel resort fees should be part of the advertised rate and be taxed at hotel occupancy tax in New York City. However, only the advertised rate is taxed hotel occupancy tax. The resort fee is taxed at the lesser sales tax rate. That is a 5.875% tax loss on every room in New York City that charges hotel resort fees.
That money could go for affordable housing initiatives and better infrastructure for New Yorkers. Unfortunately, hotels are not just cheating consumers. They are cheating cities and states as well. This number has exponentially increased since 2017, and resort fees are causing New York City to lose nearly $100 million of tax dollars annually.
Case Updates
March 22, 2024 – Press Release – Travelers United defeated Sonesta Hotels’ attempt to have a lawsuit challenging junk fee practices dismissed. The court’s order also confirmed that Travelers United can serve as a class representative and shows that DC non-profits have an additional tool to help shape policy through class litigation.
Join The Fight to End Hotel and Resort Fees
Stand with Travelers United against the deceptive advertising of nightly hotel room rates. Donate to help us keep up this fight. To take action, file an FTC complaint, contact your state attorney general and call your member of Congress. Always remember you can and should refuse to pay any hotel resort fee.